1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-compartmented display carton, preferably constituted of fiber board, which is usually employed for the displaying and dispensing of thin product-containing envelopes, pouches or packets arranged on edge within the carton. Included among products which are displayed and merchandised in this manner are powdered concentrates for soft drinks, dried seasonings, soup or gravy mixes, and which are usually marketed in a wide variety of flavors. Generally, cartons of this type which are filled with such pouches or packets are frequently stacked upon one another and the packets are dispensed from the front of the cartons. These packets do not in themselves support the weight of an upper or superimposed carton, and it is the carton structure itself which prevents the lower carton from collapsing after the removal of a substantial portion of the packets contained therein. Moreover, during shipping, a plurality of such superimposed filled cartons are frequently held together under a compressive load by a band or web of an encompassing layer of a transport shrink wrap or stretch wrap film.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A non-collapsing display carton of this type is disclosed in Berg U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,867, issued June 17, 1975, which provides for a carton structure having a plurality of partitions forming a windowed multi-compartmented display carton for the displaying and dispensing of thin envelopes or packets which are arranged on edge within the carton, and wherein the partitions are formed from fiber board segments punched out from the material of the front and rear walls of the carton, folded inwardly of the carton and are thereafter glued together. Furthermore, the bottom wall structure consists of a number of panel sections hingedly connected to each of the carton side and end walls, which are glued together and adapted to fold inwardly into the carton when the latter is arranged in a folded flat or collapsed position. The display carton disclosed in the Berg U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,356, although basically providing for a satisfactory structure with regard to the display and dispensing of the thin envelopes or packets, however, is of a more complex and expensive construction than the display carton contemplated by the present invention. Thus, because the Berg carton requires a glued bottom wall structure in addition to the glued structure of the partitions and of the carton end and side wall along one edge thereof, necessitates the employment of a second gluing operation at right angles to the first gluing sequence which precludes the use of only a straight-line gluer for the inventive carton. The novel bottom carton panel configuration used herein saves additional fiber board material in comparison with Berg. Additionally, the elimination by the invention of the glued bottom and the novel configuration of the bottom flap structures allows for a simple but sturdy mechanical interlocking interengagement of the carton bottom panels and the assistance in such an interlocked bottom panel condition by the weight of the packets or envelopes which are stored in the carton compartments.